The Sanderson Sisters finally return to Salem 29 years later and their as wicked as ever!
It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve. “Hocus Pocus 2” also stars Sam Richardson (“The Tomorrow War”), Doug Jones (“The Shape of Water”), Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”), Whitney Peak (“Gossip Girl”), Belisa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories”), Lilia Buckingham (“Dirt”), Froyan Gutierrez (“Teen Wolf”), and Tony Hale (“Veep”). The film is produced by Lynn Harris (“King Richard,” “The Shallows”), with Ralph Winter (“Hocus Pocus,” “X-Men” franchise), David Kirschner (“Hocus Pocus,” “Chucky”), and Adam Shankman (“Disenchanted,” “Hairspray”) serving as executive producers.
Hocus Pocus too?
I had a really good time watching this movie just like its predecessor. It’s entertaining throughout the duration and never felt like chore. The Humor in the film was really well done, Slap Stick humor worked thanks to the timing of the Sanderson sisters played by the original trio of Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Nijamy. They are undoubtedly the heart of this franchise and what make it so spectacularly fun. The fish out of water comedy is bang on the target. The new cast were all also quite good, no beat was really missing there. The witches’ Backstory was well done, although I do wish that was explored more. But the additions to the lore were great. I mean it gives another dimension to the characters we’ve seen in the original which drives the point that they are more than ladies who scare the crap out of kids.
The Climax
The climax had a lot of surprises too. The ending was able to extract something from me that I didn’t expect. It was emotional. Frankly, I didn’t expect an emotional ending having watched the original. But this is refreshing. The teen actors did their best with what they were given. I mean I wouldn’t mind another installment with these actors at the centre. Provided the trio returned too, that’s very important ain’t it? Other than that Climax, It’s largely predictable and generic. If you watched the first part, you’d exactly know how this movie will go forward narrative-wise. If not for the backstory and the climax. The film doesn’t offer anything new apart from the easter eggs and connection to the first part, it’s largely a generic tale. Other than the iconic trio, no characters registered with me. The film accounts for this by cleverly focusing mostly on the trio. When there are scenes without them, the narrative fizzles out when it tries to flesh out the new characters and their dynamics. It felt forced and lackluster.
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Final Thoughts
Overall, Hocus Pocus 2 is an entertaining watch and your levels of enjoyment may depend on what you thought about the original movie. If you liked the elements in the first part. You’d enjoy this one. I liked the musicals in this film too, but they were a little step-down when compared to the original movie. Not necessarily a bad thing but I wanted to point that out. The dialogues were cookie clutter. I mean I don’t have a problem with thou shalt and thy. It’s the other dialogues which like the narrative were generic. They bog down the narrative further in teen portions. The teen portions serve as a plot device for the witches. Rather than these characters having proper arcs, they served the plot rather than existing on their own.
Pros: • Performances • Witches’ backstory • Climax • Humour Beta-Cons: • Predictable Narrative • Cookie Clutter dialogues • Teen portions Beta-Thoughts: Teen portions could have been more engaging
Check out Hocus Pocus 2 only on Disney Plus September 30!